Get Started with SharePoint Designer 2010

Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010 is a Web and application design program used to design, build, and customize Web sites running on SharePoint Foundation 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. With SharePoint Designer 2010, you can create data-rich Web pages, build powerful workflow-enabled solutions, and design the look and feel of your site.

Use the links below to learn more about SharePoint Designer 2010 through articles, videos, and other learning resources. Use the procedures that follow to learn about the basic tasks you perform in SharePoint Designer 2010.

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Open and create SharePoint sites

In SharePoint Designer 2010, you can open existing SharePoint sites on the server and start customizing them, and you can create new sites based on SharePoint site templates or new, empty sites that you customize from scratch.

Open sites

To open an existing site, click the File tab, choose Sites, and perform one of the following:

Click Open Site to browse available sites on the server.

Click Customize My Site to open and customize your My Site.

Under Recent Sites select a site that you've previously worked on.

Create sites

To create a new site, click the File tab, choose Sites, and perform one of the following:

Click New Blank Web Site to create a blank, empty SharePoint site.

Click Add Subsite to My Site to create a new site under your My Site.

Under Site Templates select a template to create a new site based on
a SharePoint template.

Note In addition to opening and creating sites from within SharePoint Designer 2010, you can open a SharePoint site using your browser and then open that site in SharePoint Designer 2010 using the available links in the Site Actions menu, the ribbon, and other places in SharePoint.

Create lists, libraries, and connections to data sources

In SharePoint Designer 2010, you can create lists and libraries, which commonly serve as the data source for SharePoint sites, and you can create data source connections to XML files, external databases, and Web services.

SharePoint lists and libraries

To create a SharePoint list or library, click Lists and Libraries in the Navigation pane, and choose one of the following options on the Lists and Libraries tab:

Click Custom List to create a blank list from scratch.

Click SharePoint List to create a list based on a SharePoint list template.

Click Document Library to create a library based on a SharePoint library template.

Click External List to create an external list based on an external content type. (External content types are explained below.)

Click List From Spreadsheet to create a list based on an imported spreadsheet.

Data source connections

To create a data source connection, click Data Sources in the Navigation pane, and choose one of the following options on the Data Sources tab.

Click Database Connection to create a data connection to a database that supports the OLE DB or ODBC protocol.

Click SOAP Service Connection to create a connection to an XML Web service using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).

Click REST Service Connection to create a connection to a server-side script using REST (Representational State Transfer).

Click XML File Connection to create a connection to an XML source file.

External content types

Using external content types, you can connect to external business data sources and integrate those sources with your SharePoint site and supported client applications. Once you create an external content type, you can create external lists that allow users to interact with the data as if it were any SharePoint list or library.

Create custom views and forms

In SharePoint Designer 2010, you can create custom views and forms for your data
sources, which really become the interface for reading and writing data to those data sources.

Views

A view is a live customizable display of a data source that can be added to any SharePoint page. In SharePoint Designer 2010 you can create list views (which use the XSLT List View Web Part) and data views (which use the Data Form Web Part). Perform one of the following steps to create a list or data view.

In the Navigation pane, click Lists and Libraries, select the list you want to create a view for, and then on the List Settings tab, click List View.

Note This creates a view that is associated with the list or library. Users, as a result, will see the view and can customize the view using the Manage Views group in the SharePoint ribbon.

In the Navigation pane, click Site Pages, edit the page where you want to create the view, click the Insert tab, choose Data View, and then choose the SharePoint list or library you want to use for the view.

Forms

A form is a customizable display of a data source that you use to submit, or write back to the data source. In SharePoint Designer 2010 you can create list forms and data forms (both of which use the Data Form Web Part). Perform one of the following steps to create a list or data form.

In the Navigation pane, click Lists and Libraries, select the list you want to create a form for, and then on the List Settings tab, click List Form.

In the Navigation pane, click Site Pages, edit the page where you want to create the form, click the Insert tab, choose New Item Form, Edit Item Form, or Display Item Form and select the data source you want to use for the form.

Note In addition to using the form design tools in SharePoint Designer 2010, you can create and customize SharePoint forms using Microsoft InfoPath 2010.

Create custom workflows

In SharePoint Designer 2010, you can manage business processes using highly customized workflows. Workflows can be used to manage application processes as well as human collaborative processes. You have a number of options when creating workflows.

Create workflows in SharePoint Designer 2010

When creating a workflow, you can create one based on a SharePoint list or library; you can create a reusable workflow that can be applied to any list or library; and you can create a site workflow that functions at the site level.

To create these workflows, click Workflows in the Navigation pane and then on the Workflows tab, perform one of the following steps:

Click List Workflow and choose the list you want to associate the workflow with.

Click Reusable Workflow to create a reusable workflow that can be associated with any list or library.

Click Site Workflow to create a workflow that can be applied at the site level.

Once you create the workflow, use the workflow designer to structure the conditions, actions, and steps in the workflow. Use the task designer to manage the events associated with each task.

Import workflows from Microsoft Visio 2010

In addition to creating workflows in SharePoint Designer 2010, you can import a workflow designed in Microsoft Visio 2010 using the supplied workflow stencils and templates.

To import a workflow, click Workflows in the Navigation pane and then on the Workflows tab, perform the following steps:

Click Import from Visio and then browse your file system or SharePoint document library for the Visio Workflow Interchange file (.vwi).

Choose to associate the workflow with a list or make it a reusable workflow and click Finish.

Design site pages, master pages, and page layouts

In SharePoint Designer 2010, you can create and customize site pages, master pages, and page layouts. While each of these pages serves a different purpose, the page editing experience is similar. You can add and remove text, images, links, tables, Web Parts, server controls, and more. Apply style definitions and Cascading Style Sheets to your master pages and page layouts to change the look and feel of your site or brand it to match your corporate identity.

Site pages

To create a site page, click Site Pages in the Navigation pane and then on the Pages tab, perform one of the following steps:

Click Web Part Page to create a page that has header and body Web Parts and in addition, it will be associated with your site master page.

Click Page and choose ASPX or HTML to create an empty site page, not associated with your site master page.

Master pages

Click Master Pages in the Navigation pane and then on the Master Pages tab, click Blank Master Page.

Page layouts

Click Page Layouts in the Navigation pane and then on the Page Layouts tab, click New Page Layout and choose the content type group and name to base the page layout on.

Note Master pages and page layouts are disabled by default for all users except site collection administrators. If you don't see the option to view or edit master pages or page layouts in SharePoint Designer 2010, contact your site administrator about enabling these options.

Save as a template

When you're finished customizing your site, you can save your site or portions of the site as a template so that others in your organization can use the template to create lists, views, workflows, site pages, and more.

You might also use the template to further customize your site in another environment or by other users, such as in the browser or in Microsoft Visual Studio.

Look for the Save as Template option in SharePoint Designer 2010 to take advantage of this functionality.